Tour de France ditches prologue for 2011

Tour de France organisers have announced they will ditch the prologue
time-trial for the 2011 race in favour of a 180-kilometre stage departing
from the Vendée department on the Atlantic coast.

Wheels in motion: Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France director, has announced the opening stages for 2011Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Telegraph staff

2:16PM GMT 26 Jan 2010

The Vendée - part of the Pays-de-la-Loire region - will host its fifth Grand Départ on Saturday July 2, 2011, in the race’s 107-year history, Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France director, announced earlier today.

The Vendée, which lends its name to the Vendée-Globe round-the-world boat race, has previously hosted the opening day of the Tour in 1976, 1993, 1999 and 2005.

The stage itself, according to Prudhomme, will provide “an ideal summit for a finish where puncheurs [attacking riders] and sprinters will battle for the first maillot jaune [the leader's yellow jersey] of the 98th edition of the Tour”.

Stage two will feature a 23km team time-trial around the small town of Les Essarts before moving on to Olonne-sur-Merontinue on Monday July 4 for stage three.